The province may have fewer teachers this year than last, despite their contract settlement that promised millions of dollars to hire new teachers, an estimate done by the B.C. Teachers’ Federation shows.
After a strike that closed schools for several weeks, the two sides reached a deal that promised $400 million to hire new teachers over the course of six years, a move that was intended to address class size, class composition and specialist teachers ... Read More …

It was a simple question, but I admit it was also a loaded question.
On Thursday, the B.C. Teachers’ Federation ratified a deal that put an end to a bitter strike at B.C.’s public schools.
The BCTF voted 86 per cent in favour of the six-year deal which includes a 7.25 per cent salary increase, extended benefits, more jobs for teachers, a raise for teachers on call, $105-million fund to settle grievances (to be used ... Read More …

Master mediator Vince Ready apparently bridged a massive chasm overnight in helping the B.C. Teachers’ Federation and government negotiators reach a tentative deal to the end the B.C. teachers’ strike early this morning.
The teachers’ union will vote on the deal (which you can read about here) on Thursday.
News of the breakthrough agreement was met with great enthusiasm on Twitter.
You don't have to believe in miracles. We have Vince Ready instead.#bced... Read More …

B.C. Teachers’ Federation president Jim Iker says striking teachers will vote on whether to end their job action if the provincial government enters arbitration. The vote will be held Wednesday.
This is the BCTF’s framework for settlement through binding arbitration. It was posted on the BCTF website this morning.
BCTF Framework for Settlement Through Binding Arbitration
September 7, 2014
Introduction:
Below is the framework for settlement that BCTF President Jim Iker outlined
clearly to mediator ... Read More …

Premier Christy Clark’s assertion that striking B.C. teachers were seeking “unlimited massages” as part of their improved benefits demands met instant criticism on Twitter this afternoon.
Premier Christy Clark’s assertion that striking B.C. teachers were seeking “unlimited massages” as part of their improved benefits demands met instant criticism on Twitter this afternoon.
During a press conference on Wednesday, Clark said the B.C. Teachers’ Federation needed to come to the table with a fair wage proposal ... Read More …

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation says the government should refund the total savings from the teachers’ strike to British Columbians.
The government said that by June 30 total savings were $178 million. The taxpayers’ group estimates the total savings at $200 million so far, including summer school savings.
The group estimates that each British Columbian could get $40 if those savings were given to citizens, after accounting for a portion of the money for administration and ... Read More …

The B.C. Teachers’ Federation’s 40,000-plus members picked up the pickets yesterday as the union commenced full-scale strike action after contract talks with the B.C. government collapsed.
University of Victoria professor Kenneth Thornicroft, who expects a new deal to be reached during the summer months, is stumped as to how the two sides managed to reach this point of labour unrest.
“I’m pretty shocked that there isn’t a deal right now. It doesn’t make any ... Read More …

In an effort to kick-start stalled contract talks and avoid a full-scale strike next week, the B.C. Teachers’ Federation has submitted a new contract proposal to the BC Public School Employers’ Association bargaining team.
The package was expected to include a lowered wage demand and other concessions, but no details were made public as both sides push to prevent the provincewide strike.
Teachers, who voted 86 per cent in favor of a full-scale strike, plan ... Read More …

There will be no long weekend for B.C. school kids as the B.C. Teachers’ Federation says they won’t walk off the job until Tuesday at the earliest.
The teachers’ union, which has been carrying out rotating strikes across B.C., voted 86 per cent in favour of full-scale strike action last night.
BCTF president Jim Iker said 72 hours’ strike notice is required for a full-scale walkout.
That gives both sides a small, but important, window ... Read More …

From Vancouver Sun education reporter Tracy Sherlock:
Education Minister Peter Fassbender promised B.C. parents and students that all provincial exams would happen and that students would get their final marks, even if teachers go on a full-scale strike before the end of the year.
He said he doesn’t know how he will make that happen, but he said it would happen nonetheless.
Follow me on twitter @BrownieScott
... Read More …

Good morning. Here are some of the stories our reporters are working on today.
IN NEWS,
Education reporter Tracy Sherlock is sticking with the B.C. teachers’ labour dispute. After its Labour Relations Board loss, the B.C. Teachers’ Federation says its members will vote on a full-scale strike on Monday or Tuesday. Sherlock will outline the contentious issues behind the teachers-government rift and find out how prepared the teachers’ union is for a full-scale ... Read More …

More than 10,000 B.C. students on a Facebook group have indicated they will take part in a staged walkout Wednesday in response to being “put in the middle of the labour dispute between the BCTF and the Government.”
According to the B.C. Student Walkout For Students page, the students plan to walk out of classes at 9 a.m. and picket outside school all day Wednesday.
“Each side claims to be ‘fighting for the students’ ... Read More …

The British Columbia Teachers’ Federation re-elected its president and two vice-presidents at its annual general meeting on Tuesday.
Jim Iker, a teacher from Topley, B.C., was re-elected for a second one-year term as president, while first vice-president Glen Hansmen, from Vancouver, and second vice-president, Teri Mooring, from Quesnel, were also re-elected.
Iker said the re-election shows a commitment to the existing bargaining strategy.
“The 700 teacher delegates at the BCTF Annual General Meeting once again ... Read More …

The chairwoman of the employers’ bargaining committee during the last round of teacher contract negotiations has affirmed some of the judge’s findings in the teachers’ court case.
Melanie Joy, chair of the British Columbia Public School Employers’ Association (BCPSEA) from 2011 to 2013, wrote a letter published in a community newspaper that says she was closely involved in the June 2012 collective agreement. The agreement was negotiated between the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation and BCPSEA, ... Read More …

The B.C. Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) aimed for simplicity in crafting its Bill 22 protest plan. A key element was the withdrawal by teachers from all voluntary, extracurricular activities. Those were defined as activities that occur and/or are organized (by teachers) outside of class time.
That definition is under review by the B.C. Labour Relations Board this week as it considers an application by the B.C. Public School Employers’ Association to have the union protest declared ... Read More …

A protest that has resulted in teachers withdrawing from all after-hours activities in B.C. public schools amounts to an illegal strike, the B.C. Public School Employers’ Association (BCPSEA) alleges.
On Wednesday, it filed an application to the B.C. Labour Relations Board (LRB) seeking an order that would end the B.C. Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) protest and require teachers to resume all such activities.
The crux of the issue appears to be the definition of extracurricular. ... Read More …

The B.C. Labour Relations Board says it doesn’t have jurisdiction to review the appointment of Charles Jago as mediator in the contract dispute between public school employers and the B.C. Teachers’ Federation (BCTF).
In reaching that conclusion, association chairman Michael Fleming accepted the arguments advanced by the Attorney General’s Ministry, which said the proper forum for considering the issue is the B.C. Supreme Court.
The BCTF had asked the LRB to oust Jago because of ... Read More …

West Vancouver board of education has become the 17th in B.C. to approve a policy that offers specific protection for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students. It did so speedily and with no protests from the community, according to a story in Xtra West.
The policy states that the district “is committed to establishing and maintaining a safe and positive learning environment for all students and employees, including those who self-identify as a ... Read More …

B.C. teachers will vote this week on whether to approve a Bill 22 protest plan drafted at their union’s annual meeting. In the days leading up to the vote, North Vancouver teacher Stephen Zlotnik has been appealing to his colleagues to think twice before they endorse the plan, which includes stopping all voluntary activities, holding a vote on a province wide strike and working to defeat the Liberals in the May 2013 provincial election. ... Read More …